How to Reduce Electricity Use for Fridges and Freezers

Updated on October 10, 2012

Household fridges and freezers
run nonstop and account for around a sixth of the typical home's electricity
bill. So if you have an inefficient model, it's well worth considering an
upgrade. Compared to a typical ten-year-old fridge, an efficient new one could
pay for itself in just a few years as well as making CO2 savings from the
moment you plug it in. When shopping for a fridge or freezer, always look out
for one marked A+ or preferably A++ for energy efficiency, and opt for the
smallest model that will comfortably meet your needs. The efficiency ratings
are based on the energy consumption per unit of storage capacity, so a large
fridge may have the same rating as a smaller one but actually consume far more
energy.

If you don't want to invest in
a new fridge you could still make energy savings with a SavaPlug, available
from various websites and shops. It replaces the fridge's normal plug and has a
sensor that reduces the amount of energy needed to pump the refrigerant around
the fridge. Savings of more than 20% can be achieved, but before buying be sure
to check that your model is compatible.

Whatever type of fridge or
freezer you have, its energy consumption is influenced by the amount of time
the door is left open and - less obviously - by how clean and ice-free it is.
So defrost regularly and once in a while check the grille at the back for dust
and dirt. This will reduce power use and lengthen the fridge's working life.

One important but often
overlooked consideration is the placement of your fridge and freezer. Cooling
appliances have to work much harder if the temperature surrounding them is
high, so it's important to always place them away from sources of heat, such as
cookers, boilers, hot water pipes or sunny windows.

When's the right time to upgrade appliances?

The standard green advice of
opting for the most energy-efficient appliances available is fine when your old
model dies and needs to be replaced. But what about old appliances that still
function? How bad do they have to be before it's worth binning them and
replacing them with new models? In other words, how do you compare the emissions
saved by an efficient machine with the emissions caused by disposing of your
existing appliance and manufacturing and delivering a replacement?

Comparing the energy
consumption of an old and new machine is perfectly possible with an energy
monitor. If you don't have one, as a rough rule of thumb, upgrading from a
fairly typical machine, five to ten years old, to a new one rated best-in-class
for efficiency will typically reduce energy consumption by around 65% for
fridges and freezers, 40% for dishwashers and 33% for washing machines.
Unfortunately, however, there are few comparable figures to help you work out
the energy and emissions used in the production and transportation of the new
appliances. Even if this data was available, there would be no way to tell how
long your new, greener appliances were going to last, which would make a
meaningful calculation difficult.

As ever, then, it comes down
to common sense and broad-brush calculations. If you have an old or leaky
fridge or freezer, then it would almost certainly be sensible to upgrade to a
model rated A+ for efficiency. But if you have a mid­dle-aged dishwasher that
you only use once a week, then you might be better sticking with the old model.

When it comes to old-fashioned
light bulbs, it's always a good idea to replace them straight away. The energy
used in producing low-energy bulbs is only a tiny fraction of the energy they
save, so every extra hour you use the old bulb will cause a needless waste of
electricity.

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